Previously, a plurality of blanks have been completely cut or severed from a continuous web of flexible material by rotary dies. To pile a plurality of the cut blanks in overlying and shingled or stacked relationship, as each blank emerges from the cutting dies, it is accelerated to increase its lineal speed along a pre-determined path of travel and thereby produce a gap between its trailing edge and the leading edge of an immediately succeeding cut blank. After acceleration, each blank strikes a deflector plate and is deflected generally away from and out of its predetermined path of travel and toward an underlying receiving surface, such as a conveyor or a platform.
After being deflected, each blank is rapidly decelerated so that an immediately succeeding blank will pass into and be deposited in overlying relationship with such blank so that a plurality of the blanks are deposited on the receiving surface. If the receiving surface is a relatively slowly moving conveyor the blanks are deposited in overlapped and shingled relationship with their leading edges being longitudinally spaced apart. If when decelerated the blanks are completely stopped, they can be deposited on a platform in overlapped and generally vertically stacked relationship with their leading edges substantially aligned with each other.
The known apparatus for shingling and stacking cut blanks performs satisfactorily so long as the blanks emerge from the rotary dies at a relatively slow speed. However, when the cut blanks emerge from the dies at a speed greater than about 300 lineal feet per minute, they jam up in the apparatus and hence cannot be properly and reliably shingled or stacked at substantially higher speeds. This severely limits the output of the cutting dies which can cut blanks at speeds of 1,000 linear feet per minute and in some applications at speeds up to or even in excess of 2,000 linear feet per minute.